A thawing compartment of some refrigerators that thaws frozen foodstuffs is located in the upper section of the cooling compartment, said thawing compartment being enclosed in a case which provides an interior space for storing foodstuffs and maintaining an atmosphere conducive to thawing foodstuffs.
Said thawing compartment has a cover at the front side to provide easy access for inserting or withdrawing foodstuffs and has an inlet in the rear surface to admit a portion of the cool air as it passes to the cooling compartment
An outlet is provided at the front of the ceiling of the thawing compartment to provide an air passage which directs the cool air to an evaporator after the cool air has passed in through the inlet and has contacted with the foodstuffs in the compartment.
Also, a heater is installed in the middle portion of the ceiling of the thawing compartment to facilitate quick-thawing.
Thus, the thawing compartment constructed as described above thaws foodstuffs either slowly or quickly.
For example, foodstuffs are thawed slowly when a portion of the cool air which flows to the cooling compartment is diverted into the thawing compartment, whereas foodstuffs are thawed quickly by the operation of the heater.
But, according to the prior art unpleasant odors are often emitted by foodstuffs such as fish, shellfish, or meat and the odors circulate throughout the interior of the refrigerator when foodstuffs are stored in the thawing compartment.
The unpleasant odors in the cooling and the freezing compartments as well as the thawing compartment impair the freshness of other foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator, and this gives the user an unfavorable feeling, and also creates an unsanitary condition.